Brewing the Perfect Coffee at Home with Rachel Casstevens & Courtney Peters—RGK Cooking School Ep. 9
Jazz up your morning routine by brewing delicious homemade coffee!
On Episode 9 of Real Good Kitchen Cooking School, Rachel Casstevens and Courtney Peters teach us how to brew the perfect coffee cup from home.
Rachel and Courtney show us three different methods: Chemex pour over, French press, and DIY honeybun.
If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please consider donating to the RGK Cooking School Fund.
Proceeds from this week will benefit local Black-owned food businesses.
Chemex Pour Over for a clean, delicate cup
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Coffee
Chemex Carafe
Chemex Filter
Hot Water Kettle
Coffee Grinder
Digital Scale
Timer
INSTRUCTIONS:
Start your hot water kettle. Shoot for just below a boiling temp.
Weigh and grind your whole bean coffee. Using a coffee to water ratio of 1:14, we recommend 50g of coffee and 700g of water to start. Play with that ratio depending on how strong you prefer your coffee! Shoot for a medium coarse grind size - similar in size to Kosher salt.
Unfold your Chemex filter and place in the carafe with the triple folded side facing the pour spout. Wet filter, and pour excess water from the carafe before continuing.
Pour your ground coffee into your wet filter and give it a little shake to flatten the bed. Set your Chemex carafe on your digital scale, and zero out the weight.
Start your timer and slowly pour 100g of water in a circular motion, wetting all of the ground coffee in your filter. Try to avoid wetting the sides of your filter as you pour. After you’ve poured, let bloom for about 50 seconds.
Slowly and in a circular motion, pour 200g of water over your grounds. Let the water in your filter drop to about 1 inch above the bottom of your filter before you begin your next pour.
Repeat this same pour pattern, adding water in 200g increments until your total weight is 700g.
After all of the water has passed through your filter, discard spent filter and grounds, pour, and enjoy!
French Press for a dense, heavy cup
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Coffee
French Press
Hot Water Kettle
Coffee Grinder
Digital Scale
Timer
Spoon
INSTRUCTIONS:
Start your hot water kettle. Bring 350g (12oz) of water to a boil.
Weigh and grind your whole bean coffee. Using a coffee to water ratio of 1:12, you’ll need 30g of coffee. Shoot for a coarse grind - you should be able to see larger bits of coffee beans after ground.
Set your press on your digital scale, remove the lid/plunger and add the ground coffee to the bottom of the press. Zero out scale.
Slowly pour 60g of hot water over your grounds. Give a little stir to make sure all grounds are immersed, then let bloom for 30 seconds.
Pour your remaining water (290g) over wet grounds and place your lid/plunger back on the press. Don’t plunge yet - set your timer and let those grounds steep for 4 minutes.
Remove press from the scale and slowly press your filter to the bottom. Serve and enjoy!
DIY Honeybun—a simple take on a crowd favorite
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Brewed coffee
Milk of choice
French Press
Honey
Cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS:
Brew your coffee using your preferred brew method, and pour into mug until it’s 2/3 of the way full.
Add 2 tbs of honey (or more, if you’re a sweet coffee drinker) and stir to fully incorporate.
Measure out enough milk to cover the bottom of the filter in your French press. Heat milk either over stove or in microwave.
Add warm milk to empty French press, and push/pull plunger until milk doubles in size.
Fill your mug the rest of the way with frothed milk.
Top with cinnamon and enjoy!